


Respite

by immertreu



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned BB-8 (Star Wars), Mentioned Han Solo, Mentioned Luke Skywalker, Mentioned R2-D2 (Star Wars), Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29965416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immertreu/pseuds/immertreu
Summary: The medic had patched him up, sure, but Poe had been shot at, beaten and tortured – physically and mentally – by Kylo Ren and his minions, blown out of the sky, and then had wandered around the desert for hours until he finally met another soul who took him to safety. Nothing a gallon of water, some med patches, and 14 hours of sleep couldn't fix. Right?Right...Leia didn't believe it for a second.
Kudos: 2





	Respite

**Respite**

**by immertreu**

**March 7, 2021**

*************************************

Poe Dameron had been tinkering with his shiny black and orange X-wing for the past four hours. He hadn't stopped once, not even for food or drink despite his recent ordeal in the deserts of Jakku and at the hands of the First Order.

Leia Organa knew this defense mechanism well: Don't stop moving, don't think, just do whatever you can to drown out the world. She herself had done it more times than she could count, immersing herself in her work in order not to think or feel or remember the horrors of her life. But she also knew that it wasn't healthy and besides, they didn't have the time for one of their best officers - and their best pilot to boot - to be out of commission for too long. They needed him back in the saddle. Now. 

Despite her cold thoughts, Leia approached Poe with careful, soft steps in order not to startle the younger man. He didn't immediately react to her presence, though, and she took the time to observe him for another minute. Outwardly, he hadn't really changed in the few days he'd been away: He still had the dark, wavy hair that had been the envy of many of the women (and men) on base; brown, intense eyes framed by laugh lines; strong arms and hands from flying and working on ships for hours and days on end. He was a bit sun-burned and Leia knew there were myriads of scratches and bruises – some visible, most of them hidden under his clothing – on his body, but all in all, he looked the same. 

Yet his movements weren't quite right. He wasn't hesitating, exactly, but there was a kind of nervousness in him that hadn't been there before, an uncharacteristic tenseness that made him almost vibrate from the pressure. It became obvious when he reached for yet another tool and tightened a bolt on the fuselage of his beloved _Black One_. 

Standing there, Leia realized what had also been nagging at her ever since she'd laid eyes on him this morning: He was quiet. Far too quiet for someone who was usually either constantly in motion or speaking to someone: telling stories to his many friends and acquaintances, joking around with his fellow pilots and their technical crew, talking to himself, his ship – or his droid. Of course, BB-8 was still missing. Lost on Jakku.

Poe looked lonely without the orange and white little droid by his side. 

Leia cleared her throat and Poe jumped, hitting his head on the underside of his T-70. He didn't yelp, but he cursed – creatively – and emerged from under his ship, rubbing a sore spot on the top of his head. His eyes widened and he fell silent when he saw who he was currently wishing to end up as Wampa fodder and dangling over the mouth of a hungry Sarlacc, if Leia had understood him correctly. She wasn't that familiar with Rodian and Huttese these days, but it took a lot of her willpower not to smile at the tactless comments which showed her that the Poe she knew and relied on was still in there.

“General,” Poe said and assumed a variation of parade rest he hadn't used with her since his very first days in the Resistance. He was rattled.

Leia sighed. “At ease, Poe. I'm not here to bite you.”

Poe relaxed a little at her teasing and shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. “Sorry, General, I was just...thinking.”

Leia doubted it. In fact, she knew that he had been doing the total opposite of thinking, but she didn't call him out on it. Instead of asking him how he felt – a useless question if there ever was one – she said, “I'm sorry about BB-8.”

He couldn't quite hide his wince at the reminder but shrugged it off. “He's tough, and he's clever. He'll find a way to contact us.”

Now Leia did smile. The conviction in his voice was real although his forced grin was not. “I'm sure you're right. Never...”

“...underestimate a droid,” he finished for her, his usual easy drawl making an appearance. His expression regained some of its liveliness. “I know, I know.”

Leia wagged a finger at him, not minding the familiarity in the slightest. She'd witnessed Poe Dameron grow from a happy child to an angry teenager to a more than capable pilot and trusted friend. And one day, he would be a great leader. 

Today, though, he needed a helping hand and a reminder that he didn't have to carry all the weight of this war on his shoulders. After all, that was still her job and hers alone.

She made a show of looking around and settled her gaze on a pair of nearby supply crates doubling as work benches and seats, depending on the Resistance's current needs. “Come, sit with me,” she invited and didn't wait for Poe to follow her. 

She knew he would. Always.

When they finally perched side by side, looking out over the usual hustle and bustle of a base preparing for yet another fight, she handed over the flask and the pack of bread and dried fruit she'd brought. “Here. You need it.” 

Not accepting the offerings would have been rude. Getting up and running away could have been seen as insubordination. And they both knew it. Trapped, Poe took the proffered canteen and the food and shook his head ruefully. “When did you learn to be so sneaky?” he asked, half-serious, and took a sip of fresh jungle water. 

D'Qar, the planet they were currently hiding on, didn't offer much in the ways of infrastructure or ship-building materials. But there were various kinds of edible vegetables and fruit growing close by and the area offered enough water to keep everyone on base hydrated and – mostly – clean.

Leia cast Poe a dry look. “Before you were born, young man”, she answered his question. “Now eat or I'll send you back to the med center.”

The medic had patched him up, sure, but Poe had been shot at, beaten and tortured – physically and mentally – by Kylo Ren and his minions, blown out of the sky, and then had wandered around the desert for hours until he finally met another soul who took him to safety. Nothing a gallon of water, some med patches, and 14 hours of sleep couldn't fix. Right? _Right..._ Leia didn't believe it for a second.

Poe grimaced and obeyed, some of the nervous energy and tautness finally leaving him as he chewed.

Her intervention had come at the perfect time, then. Satisfied, Leia returned to observing her fellow Resistance fighters: ordinary people who were achieving extraordinary things; medics, technicians, command staff, civilians, all united by the will to rid the universe of yet another power-hungry monster.

Not liking where here thoughts were going, Leia turned to Poe and said reassuringly, “BB-8 will be fine. In fact, he always reminds me of R2-D2. They are both incredibly smart, funny, and loyal to a fault. Do you remember Artoo coming to the rescue when you were stuck in that tree on your farm back on Yavin Four?”

Startled, Poe swallowed and inhaled at the same time and spent the next minute trying not to cough up a lung while attempting to get rid of the crumb of bread that had gone down the wrong way. It sounded really hurtful and Leia was close to calling for another medic when Poe wheezed out, “Sorry.” He gasped for air and tried again. “Just...gimme a second.”

Leia gave him thirty and was relieved when he finally sat upright again and wiped his streaming eyes. 

Poe tried to apologize, but Leia cut him off. “I'm the one who's sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up.” She raised a hand to forestall the protest she knew was coming. “I'm an old woman. Dredging up ancient stories is my prerogative, but I shouldn't have said anything.”

Poe shook his head, still slightly out of breath, and finally managed to form a full sentence. “Nah, it's okay. I didn't...” He paused and tried again, choosing his words more carefully, “I'd totally forgotten that incident. In fact, I didn't even realize I knew Artoo before he went, well, dormant.” He shrugged apologetically, knowing how hurtful the disappearance of her brother still was for her. “You and Luke came to my mother's funeral, right? Artoo was there, too, of course, because he went everywhere with him.”

Leia nodded. “I remember how distraught you were. Nothing your father did could console you, and in the end you just ran away and climbed into the Force tree Luke had given to your mother for safekeeping.” She looked at him with kindness and still detected the hurting young boy he'd once been in his features. “Luke sent Artoo to follow you and make sure you didn't do anything stupid.”

Poe chuckled darkly, remembering. “So I climbed that tree, didn't know how to get down again, and ended up breaking my arm. My dad was furious.”

“No,” Leia interrupted. “He was scared. He didn't want to lose you, too.”

“Yeah, I know.” Poe scrubbed an uneasy hand through his hair. 

Time didn't take the pain of losing a loved one away, it just muted it, as Leia knew from far too much experience.

“Neither of us handled my mother's death very well.” He grinned sadly, obviously thinking of his misspent youth which had culminated in him running away to join the Spice Runners of Kijimi – an incident which hadn't made it into his official record, thanks to his fathers old connections and the interference of one Leia Organa, then a senator to the New Republic, who believed in second chances (or third...or fourth).

“Luke healed your arm.”

Poe's head snapped around. “What?”

Leia smiled sorrowfully. “Artoo came to us for help. Luke healed you. Then he sent you and Artoo off to play – again –, warned you not to climb any more trees, and proceeded to get your father drunk.”

“What?!” Poe repeated and gazed at her incredulously, his face flushed, his eyes wide and innocent for once. 

And Leia laughed despite the seriousness of it all. She hadn't seen Poe look this young in years. Not since he'd joined their ranks and become one of her most trusted allies. 

“My brother is a Jedi, not a monk.” She tried to look stern and failed miserably. “And he's such a lightweight he was drunk long before your father. Good thing I was there to keep the drinks coming.” She smiled softly. “Although I'm not sure how much of it was for show. He rarely drank too much. He knew his limits.” Suddenly, her good mood evaporated. “Or so I thought.”

She fell silent without meaning to, remembering the awful days and weeks after her brother's disappearance; the pain the knowledge had brought that her son Ben had destroyed Luke's temple and killed or turned all his students to the dark side; the slow disintegration of her marriage which ended with Han and Chewie leaving; the rise of the First Order – and finally, the emergence of Kylo Ren.

Poe sat back and resumed eating, giving her space and time to collect herself which she appreciated very much. Then he brushed the last of the crumbs off his stained pilot's overall and turned toward her, his features resolved now, his gaze clear despite the pain still lingering in his frame. “We'll find him,” he stated. A fact, not a wish. “Luke, I mean. And BB-8, too. We'll find them. We'll fight. And we'll win.”

Leia suddenly remembered why she relied on him so much. He wasn't just an ace pilot and a brave fighter, but also one of the sources of her strength because he believed in her, their cause, their struggle. Wholeheartedly. And he never gave up, no matter the odds. 

Yes, he'd been beaten down. He'd been captured, tortured, lost his ship, his droid, and the intel they desperately needed, all within a couple of days – but he hadn't given up. 

He'd been changed by the ordeal. Who wouldn't have? But the optimism and the innate goodness and courage he had always possessed were still there. 

Suddenly, Leia felt foolish. She'd come here to help him through a difficult time and see if he was ready to rejoin the fight. Instead, he was the one to give her a pep talk and encourage her to keep on going.

She was getting too old for this. 

A forbidden thought slipped out before she could call it back, no doubt brought on by this rare moment of quiet and companionship she hardly ever allowed herself these days. “Do you really think Luke will help us?” 

It had been a whisper, but Poe had heard her anyway. “Yes,” he stated without doubt or hesitation.

“How can you be so sure?” she asked, not able to hide the longing in her voice. She hadn't seen or heard from her twin in far too long. She had learned to live with the pain, but the wound was still as raw as on the day she'd realized he'd left her behind.

“Because he's Luke Skywalker,” he replied as if that explained everything. “He's a hero, a Jedi, a great man. Most importantly, he's your brother. He wouldn't just abandon his family.”

Oh, but he had. And where had he gone?

Poe wasn't finished. “Maybe he tried to find his missing students and got lost on the way back. Maybe he found something really important and doesn't know how to bring it to us. Maybe he's hurt. Or maybe...he's not sure you even want to see him again after...” He trailed off, afraid he'd overstepped by hinting at the secret not many people had ever learned: that Kylo Ren, Poe's torturer, killer of countless innocents, was actually the last scion of the Skywalker line. 

How Poe could sit next to her, trying to reassure her despite this knowledge, stole Leia's breath away. 

Before she could muster a reply, Kaydel Connix came sprinting from the central communications center, waving a datapad in her hands. 

Leia schooled her features in the few seconds she had, back in full-on battle mode, as Luke had teased her on more than one occasion. She forcefully shoved the memories and the pain away. The time for maudlin was over. She had work to do.

On his crate next to hers, Poe straightened as well, his whole focus now on Connix and her news as if the past few hours – or rather days – had never happened. He was ready.

Leia was under no illusions: The more serious aftereffects of Poe's ordeal would become clear later on, when their current crisis had passed and the younger man really understood what had been done to him. Nonetheless, she was proud of him. 

Panting, the messenger skidded to a stop in front of them and blurted out, “They've found him.” Seeing their quizzical expressions, she drew herself up and explained, “BB-8. He's on Takodana.”

Poe jumped up and turned to Leia, a question in his eyes. 

She didn't hesitate. “Go!”

He threw her a sloppy salute – and ran.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I still refuse to believe that Luke would just run away to some lost planet and stay there to die. Sue me. ;-) 
> 
> A/N 2: I went back and forth on how to spell Beebee and Artoo and finally went with BB-8 and R2-D2 because everything else looked just too weird to me. :-)


End file.
